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Masons of Heaven

Masons come from all walks of life - from the rich and famous to the poorand obscure. Masons are men who have joined together to improve themselves.The latter is accomplished through the principles and ceremonies of the fraternity and the application of those in their communities.

Thursday, March 5, 2015

Paradise Ritual Candle is an 8" hand-dipped ritual candle; charged, anointed and extolled by a powerful witch to aid you in reaching that authority of absolute explanation, Paradise.

Load contest who as a rule do their own spellwork find the potency of our candles so to a large extent to their choice, they use them preferably of making their own.

Paradise Ritual Candle is anointed and charged to bring spiritual fantasy and cleanness of perception. Time was you light the flame, sample your seizure upon it.

Let your heed cover with the care of the candle flame - even to the same extent you confirm your eyes. Be adamant your beware upon the won over emotions of attaining and living your handle at the same time as the candle burns.

You may brook to let the Paradise Ritual Candle to burn in good health at one time to unwrap folks ritually strengthened beware hip the manufacture, or you may wish to light and jaunt upon the candle 3 days in a row.

PARADISE RITUAL CANDLE SPECIFICATIONS:

Inscribed And Magickally Charged

PREVIOUSLY ANOINTED

100% BEESWAX

Monday, February 23, 2015

Yesterday's blog entry was about the smoothness of snow and offered a view of a quiet cove in the Lanark woods with snow, trees and wandering stream, a place which is much loved. This morning, I am tucking in two other views of that same magical corner - I visit the place every time I go out to the highlands, and it always energizes and soothes, caressing the spirit gently and enchanting the senses. I come away from such intervals feeling renewed and refreshed and ready to tackle whatever comes my way.

As cold as it is on the Two Hundred Acre Wood at this time of year, my special corner is out of the wind, an oasis of calm and quiet. The hemlocks, pines and spruces are richly fragrant and perfect in their dusting of snow - any other form of ornamentation would be excessive.

Yesterday, it was so quiet that I could hear the snow tumbling off the trees.

Friday, February 13, 2015

Prologue. June 2007. The author Rick Yancey is speaking with someone who helped him with research for another book, and winds up with the handwritten journals of an old man, William James Henry, who insisted he was born in 1876. The old man just died, without heirs, and maybe Rick wants to look at it. Rick explains that what follows is the story told in the first three journals....

And thus the story begins. 1888. Will Henry is 12. But these are not a boy's journals: they are written forty years after the death of Dr. Warthrop.

Full stop as we look at this great framing device. Will's story, told as an adult, capturing the spirit and point of view of a twelve year old while having some distance and wisdom of an adult. Will insists his memory of boyhood is sound ("I can't recall what I had for breakfast this morning, but I remember with nightmarish clarity that spring night in 1888"..."); at another time he acknowledges that the confession of someone, while true to memory, "spare[s] the reader... somewhat tiresome and frustrating divagations"." But wait! There is more! As Rick Yancey has transcribed Will's journals, Will's words were "edited only for spelling and correction of some archaic uses of grammar"." Layers upon layers, with questions of what is told when and how. Delicious!

While short, those quotes reveal that Will's journal is written in nineteenth century style. Divagations indeed! Like Octavian Nothing, the prose seems true to time yet the story remains accessible.

A monster story that is not supernatural! The Anthropaphagi are simply creatures, not yet discovered and documented sufficiently by scientists so designated "monsters." Dr. Warthrop is the type who, as he hunts these creatures, scoffs at the idea of witchcraft or demons. He is a scientist, thank you very much. Since this is the start of a series, I am besides myself trying to guess what monster next gets the monstrumologist treatment. I hadn't realized, until reading this book, how much of the horror I'd been reading was more supernatural. Very refreshing to read something with no spells or witchcraft or demons.

Dr. Warthrop, who has his own Daddy Dearest issues, has been thrust into responsibility for Will. As a man unaccustomed to children, he treats Will as an adult, for good and bad. Will is only twelve, yet his responsibilities are great. Dr. Warthrop does not hide the truth from Will; does not protect him; does not make up stories. It's as if Dean Winchester had to take care of a kid; a Dean Winchester without a Sam in his life. (Oh, you knew I was going to go Supernatural

Thursday, January 29, 2015

During the Victorian era and the early 20th century, occultism swept across America and Europe. The movement centered on the belief that life continues after death, and that spirits can be contacted via mediums. During this time, many people came forward claiming they had psychokinetic powers and went to great lengths to prove it, either by photography or performance art. Seances, levitation, and spirit writing became embedded in the imagination of the public.

The movement began to decline as many prominent investigators, such as The Society of Psychical Research, began to debunk many cases in which paranormal activity was alleged. The following photos show a fascinating glimpse into a bizarre time in human history.

COLIN EVANS PERFORMING A LEVITATION

SEANCE IN BERLIN (1930S)

PHOTOS OF A SEANCE (1940)

TELEPATHIC MANIFESTATION

SEANCE CONDUCTED BY EUSAPIA PALLADINO (1898)

SEANCES CONDUCTED BY MINA CRANDON

PHOTO OF A SPIRIT MEDIUM (1923)

Have you taken any occult photos? Even if they don't necessarily prove the existence of a mystical realm, they're still cool to look at!

Sunday, January 25, 2015

The authors have discovered what happened to one of John Dee`s most important manuscripts, his book of personal angelic invocations which he kept in Latin, and how it was preserved and developed by 17th century magicians into a full working magical system. Only a small part of this material reached the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn in the 1880s. Even this was then suppressed by the chiefs of the Order, and it did not appear in Israel Regardie`s monumental work on the Order rituals.

They have also traced how the classical techniques of invocation and evocation drawn from late mediaeval grimoires, were passed through John Dee`s magic, via Elias Ashmole, to the aristocratic angel magicians of the 17th century, including some of the most powerful and influential figures in England.

In the 20th century many fanciful constructions were added to Golden Dawn Enochian. Even writers such as Aleister Crowley were seemingly all unaware of the completely developed system that already existed, and which is here published in full for the first time.

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The habit of meditation is one of the most powerful things I've ever learned.

Amazingly, it's also one of the most simple habits to do - you can do it anywhere, any time, and it will always have immediate benefits.

How many habits can you say that about?

While many people think of meditation as something you might do with a teacher, in a Zen Center, it can be as simple as paying attention to your breath while sitting in your car or on the train, or while sitting at the coffee shop or in your office, or while walking or showering.

It can take just one or two minutes if you're busy. There's no excuse for not doing it, when you simplify the meditation habit.

WHY MEDITATE?

Why create a small daily meditation practice? There are countless reasons, but here are some of my favorite:

* It relieves stress and helps you to relax. * When you practice mindfulness, you can carry it out to everyday life. * Mindfulness helps you to savor life, change habits, live simply and slowly, be present in everything you do. * Meditation has been shown to have mental benefits, such as improved focus, happiness, memory, self-control, academic performance and more. * Some research on meditation has indicated that it may have other health benefits, including improved metabolism, heart rate, respiration, blood pressure and more.

Actually, some of the best benefits of meditation are hard to define - you begin to understand yourself better, for example, and form a self-awareness level you've never had before.

Most simply, sitting for just a few minutes of meditation is an oasis of calm and relaxation that we rarely find in our lives these days. And that, in itself, is enough.

HOW TO DO IT DAILY

There are lots and lots of ways to meditate. But our concern is not to find a perfect form of meditation - it's to form the daily habit of meditation. And so our method will be as simple as possible.

1. COMMIT TO JUST 2 MINUTES A DAY. Start simply if you want the habit to stick. You can do it for 5 minutes if you feel good about it, but all you're committing to is 2 minutes each day.

2. PICK A TIME AND TRIGGER. Not an exact time of day, but a general time, like morning when you wake up, or during your lunch hour. The trigger should be something you already do regularly, like drink your first cup of coffee, brush your teeth, have lunch, or arrive home from work.

3. FIND A QUIET SPOT. Sometimes early morning is best, before others in your house might be awake and making lots of noise. Others might find a spot in a park or on the beach or some other soothing setting. It really doesn't matter where - as long as you can sit without being bothered for a few minutes. A few people walking by your park bench is fine.

4. SIT COMFORTABLY. Don't fuss too much about how you sit, what you wear, what you sit on, etc. I personally like to sit on a pillow on the floor, with my back leaning against a wall, because I'm very inflexible. Others who can sit cross-legged comfortably might do that instead. Still others can sit on a chair or couch if sitting on the floor is uncomfortable. Zen practitioners often use a zafu, a round cushion filled with kapok or buckwheat. Don't go out and buy one if you don't already have one. Any cushion or pillow will do, and some people can sit on a bare floor comfortably.

5. START WITH JUST 2 MINUTES. This is really important. Most people will think they can meditate for 15-30 minutes, and they can. But this is not a test of how strong you are at staying in meditation - we are trying to form a longer-lasting habit. And to do that, we want to start with just a two minutes. You'll find it much easier to start this way, and forming a habit with a small start like this is a method much more likely to succeed. You can expand to 5-7 minutes if you can do it for 7 straight days, then 10 minutes if you can do it for 14 straight days, then 15 minutes if you can stick to it for 21 straight days, and 20 if you can do a full month.

6. FOCUS ON YOUR BREATH. As you breathe in, follow your breath in through your nostrils, then into your throat, then into your lungs and belly. Sit straight, keep your eyes open but looking at the ground and with a soft focus. If you want to close your eyes, that's fine. As you breathe out, follow your breath out back into the world. If it helps, count... one breath in, two breath out, three breath in, four breath out... when you get to 10, start over. If you lose track, start over. If you find your mind wandering (and you will), just pay attention to your mind wandering, then bring it gently back to your breath. Repeat this process for the few minutes you meditate. You won't be very good at it at first, most likely, but you'll get better with practice.

And that's it. It's a very simple practice, but you want to do it for 2 minutes, every day, after the same trigger each day. Do this for a month and you'll have a daily meditation habit.

EXPANDING YOUR PRACTICE

Sitting and paying attention to your breath is really mindfulness practice. It's a way to train yourself to focus your attention. Once you've practiced a bit while sitting in a quiet space, you can expand your mindfulness practice:

* When you feel stress, take a minute to pay attention to your breath, and return your mind to the present moment. * Try taking a walk, and instead of thinking about things you need to do later, pay attention to your breath, your body's sensations, the things around you. * When you eat, just eat, and focus your attention on the food, on your feelings as you eat, on the sensations. * Try a mindful tea ritual, where you focus your attention on your movements as you prepare the tea, on the tea as you smell and taste it, on your breath as you go through the ritual. * Wash your dishes and sweep your floor mindfully.

This, of course, is just a start. There are many ways to practice mindfulness, including with other people, while you work, and so on.

Saturday, January 17, 2015

Gollancz, an imprint of the Orion Publishing Group, are delighted to announce the acquisition of UK and Commonwealth rights to House of Shattered Wings and its sequel by multi award-winning author, Aliette de Bodard. Comparable to works of China Mieville and Iain M. Banks in epic scale and in delivering its ambitions, House of Shattered Wings is set in Paris amongst the aftermath of the Great Magicians War.

The rights of the two book deal were acquired by the Publisher of Gollancz, Gillian Redfearn, from John Berlyne of the Zeno Literary Agency.

Gillian Redfearn said: 'I've long admired Aliette's writing from afar and it's a dream to be able to publish House of Shattered Wings. It blew me away from the first paragraph, with a rich and wonderful new world, evocative writing and an utterly gripping story. De Bodard is an exceptional and tremendously original writer and we are so proud to be publishing her work.'

Aliette de Bodard said: 'I'm deliriously excited to be joining the Gollancz list. House of Shattered Wings is a book very dear to my heart - mingling my love of Paris, the Vietnamese tales I read as a child, and my fondness for dark magic with terrible prices - and it couldn't be in better hands! I can't wait to work with Gillian and the team.'

In House of Shattered Wings, Paris's streets are lined with haunted ruins, Notre-Dame is a burnt-out shell and the Seine runs black with ashes and rubble. De Bodard's rich storytelling brings three different voices together: a naive but powerful Fallen angel, an alchemist with a self-destructive addition, and a young man wielding spells from the Far East.

House of Shattered Wings will be published in hardback and eBook on the 20th of August 2015.

About Aliette de Bodard: The winner of two Nebula Awards, a Locus Award and a BSFA Award, Aliette de Bodard is an exceptional novelist of stand-out quality. A writer by night, by day she is a qualified engineer, specialising in applied mathematics. Born in the US, De Bodard grew up in Paris and London. She lives in Paris, in a flat with her husband and more computers than she really needs.

About Gollancz: Gollancz is the oldest specialist SF ">Image courtesy of Gollancz."